Something 99% of American voters do not understand. Congress doesn’t actually write legislation. The last item of legislation written by congress was sometime around the mid 1990’s. Modern legislation is sub-contracted to a segment of operations in DC known as K-Street. That’s where the lobbyists reside.

Lobbyists write the laws; congress sells the laws; lobbyists then pay congress commissions for passing their laws. That’s the modern legislative business in DC.

CTH often describes the system with the phrase: “There are Trillions at Stake.” The process of creating legislation is behind that phrase. DC politics is not quite based on the ideas that frame most voter’s reference points.

With people taking notice of DC politics for the first time; and with people not as familiar with the purpose of DC politics; perhaps it is valuable to provide clarity.

Most people think when they vote for a federal politician -a House or Senate representative- they are voting for a person who will go to Washington DC and write or enact legislation. This is the old-fashioned “schoolhouse rock” perspective based on decades past. There is not a single person in congress writing legislation or laws.

In modern politics not a single member of the House of Representatives or Senator writes a law, or puts pen to paper to write out a legislative construct. This simply doesn’t happen.

Over the past several decades a system of constructing legislation has taken over Washington DC that more resembles a business operation than a legislative body. Here’s how it works right now.

Outside groups, often called “special interest groups”, are entities that represent their interests in legislative constructs. These groups are often representing foreign governments, Wall Street multinational corporations, banks, financial groups or businesses; or smaller groups of people with a similar connection who come together and form a larger group under an umbrella of interest specific to their affiliation.

Sometimes the groups are social interest groups; activists, climate groups, environmental interests etc. The social interest groups are usually non-profit constructs who depend on the expenditures of government to sustain their cause or need.

The for-profit groups (mostly business) have a purpose in Washington DC to shape policy, legislation and laws favorable to their interests. They have fully staffed offices just like any business would – only their ‘business‘ is getting legislation for their unique interests.

These groups are filled with highly-paid lawyers who represent the interests of the entity and actually write laws and legislation briefs.

In the modern era this is actually the origination of the laws that we eventually see passed by congress. Within the walls of these buildings within Washington DC is where the ‘sausage’ is actually made.

Again, no elected official is usually part of this law origination process.

Almost all legislation created is not ‘high profile’, they are obscure changes to current laws, regulations or policies that no-one pays attention to. The passage of the general bills within legislation is not covered in media. Ninety-nine percent of legislative activity happens without anyone outside the system even paying any attention to it.

Once the corporation or representative organizational entity has written the law they want to see passed – they hand it off to the lobbyists.

The lobbyists are people who have deep contacts within the political bodies of the legislative branch, usually former House/Senate staff or former House/Senate politicians themselves.

The lobbyist takes the written brief, the legislative construct, and it’s their job to go to congress and sell it.

“Selling it” means finding politicians who will accept the brief, sponsor their bill and eventually get it to a vote and passage. The lobbyist does this by visiting the politician in their office, or, most currently familiar, by inviting the politician to an event they are hosting. The event is called a junket when it involves travel.

Often the lobbying “event” might be a weekend trip to a ski resort, or a “conference” that takes place at a resort. The actual sales pitch for the bill is usually not too long and the majority of the time is just like a mini vacation etc.

The size of the indulgence within the event, the amount of money the lobbyist is spending, is customarily related to the scale of benefit within the bill the sponsoring business entity is pushing. If the sponsoring business or interest group can gain a lot of financial benefit from the legislation they spend a lot on the indulgences.

Recap: Corporations (special interest group) write the legislation. Lobbyists take the law and go find politician(s) to support it. Politicians get support from their peers using tenure and status etc. Eventually, if things go according to norm, the legislation gets a vote.

Within every step of the process there are expense account lunches, dinners, trips, venue tickets and a host of other customary financial way-points to generate/leverage a successful outcome. The amount of money spent is proportional to the benefit derived from the outcome.

The important part to remember is that the origination of the entire process is EXTERNAL to congress.

Congress does not write laws or legislation, special interest groups do. Lobbyists are paid, some very well paid, to get politicians to go along with the need of the legislative group.

When you are voting for a Congressional Rep or a U.S. Senator you are not voting for a person who will write laws. Your rep only votes on legislation to approve or disapprove of constructs that are written by outside groups and sold to them through lobbyists who work for those outside groups.

While all of this is happening the same outside groups who write the laws are providing money for the campaigns of the politicians they need to pass them. This construct sets up the quid-pro-quo of influence, although much of it is fraught with plausible deniability.

This is the way legislation is created.

If your frame of reference is not established in this basic understanding you can often fall into the trap of viewing a politician, or political vote, through a false prism.

The modern origin of all legislative constructs is not within congress.

“We have to pass the bill to, well, find out what is in the bill” etc. ~ Nancy Pelosi 2009

“We rely upon the stupidity of the American voter” ~ Johnathan Gruber 2011, 2012.

“If Congress isn’t going to convene until the bill is ready to vote on… who the hell is writing the bill?” ~ Tom Massie, 2020

Once you understand this process you can understand how politicians get rich.

When a House or Senate member becomes educated on the intent of the legislation, they have attended the sales pitch; and when they find out the likelihood of support for that legislation; they can then position their own (or their families) financial interests to benefit from the consequence of passage. It is a process similar to insider trading on Wall Street, except the trading is based on knowing who will benefit from a legislative passage.

The legislative construct passes from K-Street into the halls of congress through congressional committees. The law originates from the committee to the full House or Senate. Committee seats which vote on these bills are therefore more valuable to the lobbyists. Chairs of these committees are exponentially more valuable.

Now, think about this reality against the backdrop of the 2016 Presidential Election. Legislation is passed based on ideology. In the aftermath of the 2016 election the system within DC was not structurally set-up to receive a Donald Trump presidency.

If Hillary Clinton had won the election, her Oval Office desk would be filled with legislation passed by congress which she would have been signing. Heck, she’d have writer’s cramp from all of the special interest legislation, driven by special interest groups that supported her campaign, that would be flowing to her desk.

Why?

Simply because the authors of the legislation, the originating special interest and lobbying groups, were spending millions to fund her campaign. Hillary Clinton would be signing K-Street constructed special interest legislation to repay all of those donors/investors.

Congress would be fast-tracking the passage because the same interest groups also fund the members of congress.

President Donald Trump winning the election threw a monkey wrench into the entire DC system…. In early 2017 the modern legislative machine was frozen in place.

The “America First” policies represented by candidate Donald Trump were not within the legislative constructs coming from the K-Street authors of the legislation. There were no MAGA lobbyists waiting on Trump ideology to advance legislation based on America First objectives.

As a result of an empty feeder system, in early 2017 congress had no bills to advance because all of the myriad of bills and briefs written were not in line with President Trump policy. There was simply no entity within DC writing legislation that was in-line with President Trump’s America-First’ economic and foreign policy agenda.

Exactly the opposite was true. All of the DC legislative briefs and constructs were/are antithetical to Trump policy. There were hundreds of file boxes filled with thousands of legislative constructs that became worthless when Donald Trump won the election.

Those legislative constructs (briefs) representing tens of millions of dollars worth of time and influence were just sitting there piled up in boxes under desks and in closets amid K-Street and the congressional offices. Legislation needed to be in-line with an entire new political perspective, and there was no-one, no special interest or lobbying group, currently occupying DC office space with any interest in synergy with Trump policy.

Think about the larger ramifications within that truism. That is also why there was/is so much opposition.

No legislation provided by outside interests means no work for lobbyists who sell it. No work means no money. No money means no expense accounts. No expenses means politicians paying for their own indulgences etc.

Politicians were not happy without their indulgences, but the issue was actually bigger. No K-Street expenditures also means no personal benefit; and no opportunity to advance financial benefit from the insider trading system. Republicans and democrats hate the presidency of Donald Trump because it is hurting them financially.

President Trump is not figuratively hurting the financial livelihoods of DC politicians; he’s literally doing it. President Trump is not an esoteric problem for them; his impact is very real, very direct, and hits almost every politician in the most painful place imaginable, the bank account.

In the pre-Trump process there were millions upon millions, even billions that could be made by DC politicians and their families. Thousands of very indulgent and exclusive livelihoods attached to the DC business model. At the center of this operation is the lobbying and legislative purchase network. The Big Club.

Without the ability to position personal wealth and benefit from the system, why would a politician stay in office? It is a fact the income of many long-term politicians on both wings of the uniparty bird were completely disrupted by Trump winning the 2016 election. That is one of the key reason why so many politicians retired in 2018.

When we understand the business of DC, we understand the difference between legislation with a traditional purpose and modern legislation with a financial and political agenda.

When we understand the business of DC we understand why the entire network hates President Donald Trump.

Lastly, this is why -when signing legislation- President Trump often says “they’ve been trying to get this through for a long time” etc. Most of the legislation that is passed by congress, and signed by President Trump in his first term; is older legislative proposals, with little indulgent value that were shelved in years past.

Example: Criminal justice reform did not carry a financial benefit to the legislative bodies, and there was no financial interest funding the politicians to pass the bill. If you look at most of the bills President Trump has signed, with the exception of a few economic bills, they stem from congressional construction many years, even decades, ago.

Think about it carefully and you’ll see it. The “First step act”, “Right to Try”, etc. were all shelved by Boehner, Pelosi, Ryan, McConnell, Reid and others before them. When the value of legislation is measured by the financial underwriting and payoffs behind it, what type of legislative calendar does that require?….

Additionally, ever since the Printing Press was invented the Power to Communicate and Control have been used to manipulate Governments, Businesses, and the People and weaponized to Promote, Mislead, Protect, and Enslave the People by Monarchies, Imperialism, Communism, and Fascism!

Furthermore, when you combine such Economics, Geopolitical, Communications ,and Internet Powers together it requires a huge Network of Corporate, Private, Governmental, and Public Intelligence for Monitoring, Surveillance, and Espionage. As a way to oversee Individuals, Citizens, and make sure they remain Obedient Servants on every Continent.

Finally, this Global Communist China Party Covid-19 Virus Government, Economic, and Community Shutdown with London’s Global Climate Change Science False Models targeting the Elderly with Preexisting Conditions is No Coincidence! The Global Police Powers that strikes into every Persons Home is just an Exercise of how far Elites will Go to keep Control. This is what Independent Individuals are up against, Conform or be Shut Ins in Homes you No Longer Control.

Only the American Enlightenment Constitutional System of the Rule of Law by Due Process can Protect every Individual Life, Liberty and Property. Each Imperfect Person Vote electing Imperfect Public Servants to Form a More Perfect Union not just in America but Globally now? We The People will Respond to any Elites preying on the Weak!

It is a collection of people cheerleading the fight to see General Flynn incarcerated.

They’re living in an echo chamber over there, and it seems like it would be useful to visit them presents them with some information from outside of their bubble if you can do so without getting banned.

They are very afraid of alternative voices. Perhaps the best way to approach them is as a concern troll rather than challenging them directly.

In any case they’re part of the resistance but do themselves as very intelligent and informed and educated and so forth but it’s pretty humorous to watch how they spin themselves in circles and convince themselves of things that are definitively not true.

They are all excited that Sullivan has hired this lawyer and they think it’s the greatest Kung Fu move they’ve ever seen

It is useless to attempt any discourse at emptywheel. Their wheel is not the only thing that is empty over there.
She even doxxed one of her own people, ratting her guy out to the FBI, during the Muh Russia phase.
As i said, their wheel is not the only thing over there that is empty…

” it’s pretty humorous to watch how they spin themselves in circles and convince themselves of things that are definitively not true.”

I find that to be the case for most liberal websites, Media Matters comes to mind. Much of what you read on those sites is a message from HQ telegraphing what’s coming down the pike, it’s synonymous with ‘This is John Connor. If you are listening to this message, you are the Resistance.’

Media has its partisan role. That gets them access to Congress and staffers, and to those unacknowledged lobbyist backgrounders.

Look at pharma money flow through K Street and the media ad sales people in NYC and DC. Gotta pay for those talking head salaries with commercials for overpriced and previously unneeded drugs.
The Congresscritters are clever. They are each a CEO of a very lucrative operation. They direct the lobbyists and fellow-travelers, preferably off the record while telling their constituents some platitudes.

The advanced version blends in back alley photo ops that help keep the Critters all working in the approved ways. How many lives get ruined, but are treated as collateral damage?

Trump does not see Taxpayers as SLAVES. Grenell recognizes this and expresses this eloquently in this video. The Government – from congress to governors – ANYONE WITH POWER lives off of our hard work. What a concept!? We work. We pay tax. They take our tax money and spend and get rich. Government produces nothing.

THIS IS A TRILLION: $ 1,000,000,000,000 This is the average median salary in USA $50,000
how many median salaries does it take to make 1 trillion? 20 million people working 1 year and contributing 100% of their salary. How long did it take for congress to spend 6 trillion? 30 days.

Well our “SMART” president was played by Faux Fuaci, Gates and Soros and lost. He let them destroy our country without firing a shot from the best trillion $ military money can buy. He may understand that he destroyed our grandchildren’s future!

Anyone who thinks that government can possibly stimulate its way out of this or create hyperinflation by spending even $10 trillion are not taking into consideration the full scope of this economic collapse.

The damage to the global economy is far beyond what can be repaired and no amount of stimulus will matter. Total damage exceeds more than $10 trillion in the United States and more than $30 trillion on a global scale.

Playing games with $1 to $3 trillion stimulus packages will not in the least overcome the contraction no less actually create inflation. The traditional idea that some $3 trillion will create hyperinflation is really juvenile to say the least. This is like you lost $100,000 and they offer you $1200. You are certainly not going to go out and party!

They all will never put “Humpty Dumpty” back together again!

Think about it – “The Kid from Brooklyn” was right!

Good night Ms Calabash wherever you are because – you can fuggetiboutit!

Bill Gate’s fundamental, bedrock, unshakeable conviction / goal is De-Population. Like his father before him, who ran Planned Parenthood, Bill wants a World with Much Fewer people, like it says on the Georgia Guidestone monument – ideal world population of 500 million. Also recall that Bill has argued, “Do you spend $1 million on end of life care for one person or hire 10 teachers? But we are not supposed to have that (Death Panel) conversation.” Bill Gates is the front man of a lot of new and ancient Billionaire’s foundation money. It’s scary when you let that sink in. And we are supposed to trust this guy with the world’s health. I don’t think so!

Not ever knowing this about K Street, I have long believed our Government should have an internal CBO style Dept that we’re assigned to write legislation for the House and Senate. Sort of pork/constitution watchdog while achieving the purpose of the sponsor(s). A pipe dream I expect especially these days. Maybe an independent private organization that takes them apart before any vote?

The is The Reason why the entire federal (and most state) government should be immediately scrapped, and we start over with a new constitutional government, the way it used to be. All politicians given the opportunity to resign or be driven from office. No more career leeches.

Yes, there will be pain. Yes it will be messy. And yes it is needed now if not sooner.

Washington is a business Operation but a bastardized version in that it does not accumulate money by selling a product. As it spends the money the object is to accumulate a portion of the spending stream into the politicians own pockets;as the example of Joe Biden dealings with Ukraine and China showed. Since Trump did not rise through the ranks in this organization he will never be accepted into this club but regarded as a potential enemy of the club regardless of the party.